Research Director
(Female, Age 30) from Quincy, NY
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 30 who works as a Research Director in Quincy, NY. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Research Director |
|---|---|
| Salary | $40,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 37.5 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Quincy, NY |
| Years Experience | 1 year |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work for the Joint Committee on Transportation in the state legislature for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which is one of approximately 20 Joint Committees within the state legislature. There are about 17 state representatives and senators on the Committee, and 7 staff working for the committee, with each representative and senator also having at least one staff member. As a whole, there are 40 State Senators and 160 State Representatives and approximately 1000 staff that work in the building.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I arrange public hearings on each of the bills (legislation) assigned to the committee, have meetings on the bill with interested parties including other representatives and senators, members of the general public, and lobbyists and/or other government officials, and make recommendations on whether each bill should be reported out of committee favorably, unfavorably, or sent to study.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
2 weeks vacation, 1.25 paid sick days accrued per month, 10% salary paid into state pension fund, variety of options available for health insurance coverage at 70/30 split
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
under
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes – I work with other people all the time and it’s one of my favorite, if not my favorite part of the job. I’m a people person and I find helping people that genuinely deserve and need help to be extremely rewarding. I also find that people are really grateful when you help them out and so that feels good.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
Office – it’s only partial walls, so we’re working in a large space with a lot of noise and some competing personalities. It’s sometimes helpful in that you learn a lot of information in a short amount of time and there are very few secrets, but sometimes you want or need a little privacy or time to think and it’s challenging in this environment.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 5
Hours: 4
Co-Workers: 2
Supervisors: 6
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 3
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | n/a |
| 8am to 9am | travel to work, check emails on Blackberry |
| 9am to 10am | respond to work emails that I could not respond to appropriately via phone, check news sites, check daily events |
| 10am to 11am | plan schedule for the day, continue checking emails, make phone calls |
| 11am to 12pm | hold meetings, attend meetings. |
| 12pm to 1pm | lunch |
| 1pm to 2pm | re-check emails, attend more meetings. |
| 2pm to 3pm | make phone calls about emails, prepare compilation sheet of incoming emails, attend more meetings. |
| 3pm to 4pm | file information received via email or regular mail |
| 4pm to 5pm | prepare for tomorrow’s events |
| 5pm to 6pm | head home |
| 6pm to 7pm | n/a |
| 7pm to 8pm | n/a |
| 8pm to 9pm | n/a |
| 9pm to 10pm | check emails before going to bed. |
| 10pm to 11pm | n/a |
| 11pm to 12am | n/a |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
Inside job posting
What was the application process?
Submitted resume, interview
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes – interview with my boss, already was known by my supervisor.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
Why do you want this job, why do you think you are the best candidate for this job, do you have any personal interests that would cause conflicts in anything that you would be asked to do in this position.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
This is my fourth job within State Government and my fourth boss, and so now I feel like I already knew most of what I was getting into, but initially, I’m not so sure I was properly prepared when I first started.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Minimal – most of it was hands-on once hired.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes – I have a liberal arts education, which I found to be immensely helpful in overall skills, and then my environmental education comes in handy when I have to work on projects that are environmentally-based, although not everything I work on is environmental.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
never interned.
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Network and try an internship or co-op in order to get your foot in the door. Otherwise, contact your local or state representative and ask for a recommendation or assistance in learning about current openings.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
You definitely want to be a person with good social skills, and a good networker. The people that you work with and get to know can ultimately end up being phenomenal contacts that can help you in both the professional and personal aspects of your life.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Not necessarily.
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
You always want to treat everyone with respect.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Now it is – I believe I will want to continue work in state government, though probably in another role in the future.
What are your current career goals?
Work towards transferring into a position of higher authority and with a higher salary, probably to an Agency or Department rather than within the legislature.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Public service is rewarding, but not necessarily lucrative.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Research Director | 2 years | 37595 | Made all policy recommendations on 300+ bills. Successful in attaining passage of legislation establishing a Massachusetts Food Policy Council, regulating off-highway and recreation vehicles, further preventing oil spills in Buzzards Bay, and more than 20 other Committee bills. |
| Prior Job 2 | Government | 2 years | 37595 | Maintained working knowledge of $1.4 billion public safety budget, tracked amendment status and line-item funding. Instrumental in establishing new state 911 department, including resolution of issues related to VoIP protocols. Helped create legislation to expand buffer zone restrictions around abortion clinics, upheld by state Supreme Court. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.89
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.25 | Dickinson College | Environmental Studies |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
3.4 | Harvard University | Environmental Management |
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